Teen Movie Cliches
by CineMariel
Summary: AU where Stiles, the most popular boy in school, needs a favor from Lydia and she's not inclined to help. NerdLydia/PopularStiles and some Scott/Allison. "Every last solitary second of high school was going to be worth it when she got into MIT, worked her ass of, and won the Fields Medal. But still, it would be nice to have some friends."
1. Chapter 1: Ten Things I Hate About You

The Fields Medal.

She thought about it all the time. When she got up in the morning. When she went to bed at night. When she was bored in class because she was miles ahead of her classmates. When she ate lunch alone.

All of it. Every last solitary second of high school was going to be worth it when she got into MIT, worked her ass of, and won the Fields Medal.

But still, it would be nice to have some friends.

_Friends are a distraction_ she would remind herself every time she felt lonely. _Friends keep you from working. Would you rather be Homecoming Queen or on your way to getting your PhD? _

But when a new girl started school and was seated next to Lydia in first period, she pounced.

Allison Argent was nice. She didn't notice that Lydia was an outsider, and if she did she didn't pull away. She didn't make fun of Lydia for how focused she was on her school work. Allison seemed to genuinely want to hang out with her. Even though it was against her policy, Lydia was excited at the prospect of having a friend. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only person who noticed Allison.

_Popular_ was the wrong word. Stiles preferred _well liked_. _Popular _made him think of bad guys in eighties high school movies who pushed people into lockers and gave them swirlies. That wasn't him.

People knew Stiles and they liked him. That's how he saw it. And why not? Stiles was funny, charming, some girls even said handsome. Top that off with lacrosse star and sophomore class president and you wouldn't be wrong to say popular.

But he didn't.

Stiles' popularity, or well like-edness, made him accustomed to getting what he wanted. So, when his best friend, Scott, was nervous to ask the new girl out, he didn't get it.

"I don't see the problem here," Stiles studied his friend's anxious face.

"You don't get it," Scott replied, shifting nervously.

"You're right. I don't."

"She's cool," Scott glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"And her coolness terrifies you?" Stiles couldn't help but smile.

"Not her coolness, her mysteriousness," Scott took a bite of his lunch, struggling to find the words. "No one knows anything about her. The only person she's really talked to is that Lydia girl."

"Who?"

"Her," Scott nodded his head in Allison's direction. Stiles turned to follow his gaze.

"Don't look!"

"How am I supposed to know what you're talking about if I don't look?" Stiles asked.

"Kinda... glance," Scott suggested.

Stiles did his best covert glance. He saw Allison, he could see why Scott liked her, she's beautiful. The girl who sat across from her, talking animatedly, was different. She had bright eyes and long red hair. Her hands gestured emphatically as she talked a mile a minute. Stiles turned back to face Scott.

"Have you talked to her?"

"Lydia doesn't talk to anyone," Scott told him.

"She talks to Allison," Stiles pointed out. "And more importantly for you, Allison talks to her."

"I don't know..." Scott trailed off, looking at Allison.

"You really have it bad for her," Stiles watched his best friend blush.

"Shut up, Stiles."

"No, dude, this is adorable. I'm gonna help you."

Lydia was at her locker, trading books. She strained under the weight of her overflowing backpack. Academic success did not come without some costs.

"Lydia?"

Her head snapped up and she saw him. Stiles Stilinski. Every time Lydia saw him she could help but think of every popular guy villain in every teen movie she'd ever seen. Stiles could get away with everything, get anyone, and do anything he wanted. Lydia was not predisposed to like him.

"It is Lydia, right?" he asked with an eager- but she could help but feel, slightly patronizing- smile.

"Not interested," she told him, rummaging to find her history notes.

"Sorry, what?" Stiles ran his hand through his hair. Lydia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not interested in whatever prank you're trying to pull on me," she looked him dead in the eye. Confrontation was not her strong suit, but something about him set her on edge just enough.

"Prank? It's not a prank. I-"

"Just like it wasn't a prank when Jackson Whitmore asked me to winter formal, or when Cora Hale threw my lunch away when I went to the bathroom last week. Why don't you just say what you want and get it over with?"

Stiles paused, he seemed actually shocked by what she's said. She couldn't tell if it was because he didn't know about the pranks or because he was not used to people talking back to him. Maybe both.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I don't need your apology," Lydia snapped, slamming her locker shut.

"Then I'm sorry for saying sorry," Stiles gave her what he must think was a winning smile. Lydia stifled a chuckle.

"Anything else?"

"Umm, no." Stiles shook his head.

"Good."

Lydia turned on her heel and left. For once, she got the last word. And it felt good.


	2. Chapter 2: Can't Hardly Wait

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reviewing! This chapter has a lot of set up. But I'm finding it really fun to point out similarities between Stiles and Lydia. **

Stiles considered himself a pretty likable guy. He'd even go as far as to say that most people liked him. But Lydia did not.

And something about that drove Stiles crazy.

He couldn't remember the last time someone had treated him like that. Stiles had never even met her before and she hated him. How could she hate him? She didn't even know him.

For the rest of the day, he tried to focus on other things but it kept creeping into his mind. He was in math class and he forgot his homework, but his teacher gave him the benefit of the doubt and said he could turn it in tomorrow. He thought of Lydia refusing to talk to him. Someone smiled at him in the hallway. He thought about the look on Lydia's face when she told him about the pranks people had pulled on her. Why couldn't he shake this?

"How'd it go?" Scott asked, pulling Stiles out of his reverie.

"Huh?" Stiles shook his head, trying to get her face out of his mind.

"You were going to talk to Lydia's friend," Scott reminds him, like he's an idiot.

"Uh, okay," Stiles lied. Something about this was incredibly embarrassing for him. He'd won state for lacrosse, been elected class president, and been asked to senior prom when he was a freshman. He should be able to sweet talk some random girl.

"Did you ask her?"

Stiles looked at his friend. He really wanted a chance with Allison and he was too scared to make the first move. Stiles had to help him.

"Not yet," Stiles admitted. "These things take time. I can't just open with, 'Hey, my best friend is practically stalking the new girl who only seems to talk to you, can you help me out here?'"

"I'm not stalking her," Scott's cheeks reddened.

"What's her third period class?" Stiles asked.

"History," Scott replied without loosing a beat.

"I rest my case," Stiles grinned. "Give me a little time with Lydia. I can handle her."

"Who's that?" Allison asked her, pointing across the hallway.

Lydia turned around to look.

"Don't stare!" Allison yelped.

"How am I supposed to know who you're talking about?" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"That guy with the dark hair," Allison looked over Lydia's shoulder.

Lydia looked behind her, trying her best to be inconspicuous. She saw Stiles Stilinski in mid conversation with Scott McCall. She clenched her jaw. She was still annoyed from their interaction yesterday. What did he want with her? Just seeing him across the hall made an angry flush creep up her neck. Almost like he knew she was thinking about him he turned and locked eyes with her.

"Hey," he mouthed, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Lacking an interesting comeback, and caught off guard by him suddenly noticing her, Lydia waves at him awkwardly before turning back to Allison.

"The guy who waved? That's Stiles Stilinski."

"No," Allison shook her head. "Next to him, his friend."

"Oh," Lydia felt a rush of relief. It was good to hear that her friend wasn't sniffing around Stiles. She was way too good for him. "That's Scott McCall. Why do you ask?"

"Umm, nothing. He's..." Allison trails off as if she was searching for a cover and failed.

"What?" Lydia asked.

"He's really cute," Allison kept her eyes on the ground, embarrassed.

"Do you like him?" Lydia was giddy, this was her first secret. Allison was confiding in her and that was new and different.

"I don't know," Allison shook her head.

"He's nice," Lydia told him. "I don't really know him, but I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about him. Except Jackson, but I think he's just jealous of him for making first line."

"He plays lacrosse?" Allison asks, leaning forward eagerly.

"He does," Lydia can't help but smile at how excited her friend is.

He sees her waiting outside, her books clutched to her chest. He realizes that her hair is strawberry blonde, not red like he thought. He looks at her carefully. Flirting hadn't worked, he couldn't even look at her without making her scowl. He racked his brain for what he could do to appeal to her. But he stopped himself. He was Stiles Stilinski. He didn't have to do anything special. Yesterday was a fluke. This time will be different.

He makes a beeline for her. She doesn't see him. She's staring off into space.

"Hey," he tried. No response.

He waves a hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her daydream. She glares at him.

"Can I help you?"

"I thought maybe I could help you," Stiles responds. "I saw you staring at me in the hallway earlier today-"

"In your dreams, Stilinski," Lydia scoffs.

"Okay..." he trails off. He doesn't know her last name. It's awkward.

"Martin," Lydia supplies, her voice much quieter. "Lydia Martin."

"Did I do something to upset you?" Stiles asked, completely exasperated.

Lydia looked up at him, brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to respond.

"Hey guys!" Allison called to them, beaming. She and Scott were side by side. One of them must have bit the bullet and talked to the other. Stiles' money was on Allison.

"What's up?" Scott grinned. Maybe he had grown a pair and asked her out and Stiles was free of having to convince Lydia he was worth her time.

"Nothing much, I don't think we've met. I'm Stiles," he offered Allison his hand. She took it. She had a firm grip and she looked Stiles in the eye when she told him her name. Stiles couldn't help but think that Scott chose well.

"I had to grab my lacrosse stuff out of my car, so I thought I'd walk with Allison." Scott explained, even thought nobody asked why he and Allison were walking together.

Stiles can't help but notice Lydia's smile. For the most infinitesimal moment, Stiles thought that Lydia had a crush on Scott. And it threw him into a small panic. Of course it did. Lydia couldn't like Scott. Scott wanted to date Allison. And if Allison found out Lydia liked Scott there was no way she would ever go out with him. Scott deserved a win and Stiles wanted to help. But then she saw that Lydia wasn't looking at Scott, she was exchanging looks with Allison. Allison liked Scott. And Lydia knew it.

It was all Stiles could not to thrust his fist in the air in victory.

"Scott, you know practice is cancelled today, right?"

"Huh?" Scott asked, tearing his gaze away from Allison.

"Yeah, so..."

"Allison, you should give Scott a ride home," Lydia suggested. Stiles nodded in agreement.

"Sure you can come with me and Lydia," Allison's smile widened.

"I can take Lydia home," Stiles interjected.

"Are you sure?" Allison asked.

"Yeah," Lydia replied. "My place is closer to his than it is to your anyway."

"It is?" Stiles asked.

"It is," Lydia said pointedly.

For someone who had never had friends before, Lydia was really good at it if she said so herself.

After all, she had gotten Allison and Scott in a car together even though it meant she had to ride home with Stiles. A guy who didn't know her last name even though they'd gone to the same school together since first grade. She'd be lying if she said that didn't hurt just a little. Lydia had spent years telling herself it didn't matter what people thought of her. Finding out they didn't think of her at all... well, it wasn't great.

The ride was awkward. Once she told him her address they rode together in silence until they got to her house.

"Scott's a good guy, right?" she blurted out. Stiles seemed surprised.

"Yeah," he said.

"By real standards, not just yours?" she pressed him for information.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stiles asked, bristling.

"Is he or isn't he?" Lydia asked insistently.

"Scott's the nicest guy I know. We've been best friends for years and he's stood by me through everything. Allison would be lucky to have him."

"Well, he'd be lucky to have her," Lydia retorted.

"If either one of them ever has the guts to ask the other one out, maybe we'll see who's the lucky one."

Lydia almost laughed. But she stopped herself.

"Thanks for the ride," she said before darting out of the car, putting as much distance between herself and Stiles as she could.


	3. Chapter 3: She's All That

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Hope you like it!**

"She likes dark chocolate better than milk chocolate, has been practicing archery since she was 9, and she has really strict parents," Scott had been talking about Allison for over an hour. Stiles had no idea how he'd managed to get all this information on her in the time it took him to drive from school to her house.

"Did you find out her favorite Disney princess?" Stiles asked.

"No," Scotts face fell. "Should I have?"

Stiles laughed. Scott was usually pretty easy to mess with, but lovesick Scott...

"Did you ask her out? Or just interrogate her?"

"Not exactly..." Scott lowered his head in shame.

"Come on, man!" Stiles chastised him. "I took one for the team with Lydia Martin so you could hang out with this girl and you didn't even close."

"What do you mean you're not going out?" Lydia cried. She had had to spend time with Stiles Stilinski for this and Allison didn't get a date with the guy.

"My parents are strict," Allison explained. "Strict and pro-gun. I'm looking out for him. The longer we can keep this from my mom and dad the better. Trust me."

"But how are you going to see if he's worth introducing to your parents eventually if you don't go out?"

Allison shrugs.

"We'll figure something out," Lydia assured her.

Stiles walked down the hallway, trying to brainstorm. There had to be a way to get them together without her parents finding out. But that wasn't the only problem. Scott was nervous. This was the first girl he'd liked in a really long time. He wasn't good at making the first move, or the second. He just needed a little coaching.

Stiles looked up and saw Lydia leaning against a locker and talking to Danny. He didn't know they were friends. Danny said something and Lydia threw back her head and laughed.

_That's what she looks like when she smiles_, he thought. She certainly didn't do that around him. Ever.

He caught Danny's eye and waved. Danny waved back. Lydia followed his gaze to Stiles and her smile immediately disappeared. She had to be the only person he had this effect on.

"Hey Danny. Lydia," he tried to ignore Lydia's grimace.

"Hey Stiles,"

"Stilinski," Lydia was practically baring her teeth.

"I didn't know you guys knew each other," Danny remarked.

"We do," Stiles said just as Lydia said-

"We don't. I'll see you after school, Danny." And with that, Lydia turned on her heel and left.

"She's friendly," Stiles said sarcastically, looking to Danny and waiting for him to agree.

"Actually, she is," Danny told him. "Lydia's great. She must be in a weird mood today or something."

"She and I don't exactly get a long," Stiles admitted.

"What did you do?" Danny looked at him accusatorially.

Stiles threw up his hands, exasperated.

"I didn't do anything!" he practically yelled. "I've never even talked to her before a couple days ago. What could I possibly have done to make her hate me?"

"Umm, maybe not talk to her for ten years?" Danny challenged.

Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Why are you hanging out with her anyways?" Stiles changed the subject.

"She's tutoring me," Danny told him. "We have a study date tonight."

Stiles had an idea.

Lydia couldn't believe him. She knew he was a jerk but to go behind her back like this was...

Lydia was too angry to think of a word for it. She was too angry to think. Which was probably why she felt comfortable storming into the boys locker room.

"Where's Stiles?" she asked the first meathead she made eye contact with.

"Umm, he's still in the shower," he replied.

Lydia continued through the locker room and slammed right into Jackson Whitmore. She pinned her eyes on the floor, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Trying to visit me, Martin?" he asked mockingly.

"No," she did her best to keep her voice steady. "I'm looking for a different jerk, so if you could just move out of the way that would be great."

Jackson slid by her, still smiling.

Lydia pressed on, even angrier, if that was possible, and found Stiles.

"Hey!" she called. "Stilinski!"

Stiles made a high pitched sound and instinctively covered himself. Not that Lydia was looking. There was a little wall in between her and... the rest of him.

"Lydia!" she had never seen him this flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard we're going on a double date," she said pointedly. "Allison just told me. Which is weird because... I didn't know about it."

"Well," water ran down Stiles' face in rivulets as he tried to form a good excuse. "You're not wrong."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Lydia challenged him.

"I was thinking about Scott and Allison!" he exclaimed, walking towards her.

Even though the short little wall separated them, Lydia instinctively took a step back.

"I had to do something. They really like each other and they were going to let stupid stuff keep them apart."

"Then why didn't you ask me?" Lydia stepped forward, getting in his face to prove she wasn't intimidated by him. The water had soaked his hair and flattened it out. So whenever he shook his head, trying to drive a point home she was splattered in droplets.

"Because I knew you'd say no. And then we'd be in the same place we were this morning."

He had a point.

"You offered to ride home with me yesterday and you can't stand me, I know this is what you wanted."

Now Lydia's having trouble looking at him. Not only is he right and that's embarrassing for her, but she's starting to realize that charging into the shower when he's naked is kind of a crazy move.

But now not looking him in the eye meant looking somewhere else. Lydia forced herself to make eye contact again.

"Did you have a better plan?" he asked.

She shook her head. A slow, satisfied smile spread across Stiles face as he backed away, into the steady stream of water coming from the shower head. He leaned his head back and sprayed a little water like he was a fountain. Lydia rolled her eyes, wordlessly telling him he was not as cute as he thought he was.

"Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?" she couldn't stand how smug he sounded when he aksed.

"Yeah," Lydia spoke, desperate to have the last word. "You're paying. And don't expect me to put out."

As she walked away she swore she heard Stiles choke on a laugh.


	4. Chapter 4: Can't Buy Me Love

**Author's Note: Hey guys. This chapter is pretty much all set up. But I tried to throw in as many fun character moments as I could (and Melissa McCall). Thank you so much for your reviews!**

"God, Lydia," Allison said, looking through her closet. "Do you own anything that isn't long sleeved and grey?"

"I do..." Lydia protested. But long sleeved and navy or three quarter sleeved and beige probably weren't what Allison was looking for.

"You're going on a date with the most popular guy in school, Lydia. Do you own anything a little more flashy?"

Lydia didn't know what to say. It's not like she could tell Allison that this wasn't a real date. That it was all a ploy to get her and Scott together. She couldn't tell her that spending an evening pretending to be on a date with Stiles was at the top of her list of things she never wanted to do.

"Shouldn't he like me for me?" Lydia asked.

"Of course he should," Allison said. "I just think... dressing up for a date shows the guy you care."

"How about you just show me what you're wearing?" Lydia was desperate to change the subject.

"Well, I'm not totally sure, so I brought some options," Allison hefted a giant duffle bag onto Lydia's bed and Lydia laughed.

"Did you bring everything in your closet?"

"I'm nervous, okay? I'm not good at all this girl stuff. How about we help each other? And you can wear what I don't. "

And that's when Lydia knew that one night with Stiles was definitely worth it if it made her best friend happy.

"How's this one?" Scott asked, holding what had to be the twentieth shirt up to his torso and giving Stiles an awkward frozen grin.

"If you smile like that when we pick them up it's not going to matter what you wear, Scott." Stiles sat on Scott's bed, next to the mountain of discarded shirts.

"Did he show you the green one?" Scott's mother called from the other room.

"Yeah!" Stiles replied, shouting through cupped hands.

"Don't let him wear the green one!" Melissa told him. "He thinks it looks good but the pattern is so tacky!"

"Mom!" Scott yelled, throwing the shirt onto the pile.

Melissa walked in and leaned against the doorway.

"Then what do you think?" Scott challenged.

"The dressy grey one with a black shirt under it," Melissa answered easily. "It looks like you put in effort, but you're still casual."

Scott's jaw dropped. His mind had been blown. He dug through the pile of shirts.

"You're a genius, Mrs. McCall," Stiles told her. He liked Scott's mom. Ever since his mother died, Melissa had kind of taken him under his wing. She clearly knew his dad couldn't always be around and sometimes she stepped in when he needed a mom or a mom-like figure.

"What are you wearing?" she asked.

"I'm going with a timeless look," Stiles gestured to the ratty jeans and plaid shirt he was wearing.

Melissa scoffed.

"No, seriously."

"Seriously," Stiles said. "This is what I'm wearing. Is not working?"

"It works," she told him. "If you wanted to let this girl know that you couldn't care less about how you looked for your first date. That is what you're going for, right?"

Stiles looked down sheepishly.

"Well, it's not actually a real date," Scott told her. "Stiles is kind of doing me a solid."

"So you're only seeing her so Scott can go out with her friend?" Melissa asked.

"Pretty noble, huh?" Stiles grinned.

"No!" Melissa half-playfully slapped him upside the head. "I don't care who this girl is. You treat her with respect. Starting with what you wear. Go home and change."

"But-"

"Is this girl nice?" she questioned.

"Not exactly," Stiles said, thinking about her face when she barged into the locker room to yell at him.

"Is she smart?"

"Yeah," Stiles answered, recalling how smoothly she'd been able to get Scott and Allison alone together.

"Do you want to know more about her?" Melissa asked.

"I do," Stiles surprised himself by answering honestly.

"Then change."

About an hour later, Stiles knocked on the door. He looked down at his new outfit, hoping that it sent the right message. Although, to be fair, it was hard to find an outfit that said _thanks for going on this fake date with me, hopefully this is relatively painless and our friends hookup and make it worth it._

Allison answered the door, a huge smile on her face.

"Lydia's upstairs," she told him with a smug smile. "You're going to thank me."

"For what?"

"Allison!" Lydia called from upstairs. "I feel like I'm wearing freaking stilts."

Stiles heard her clomping down the steps and suppressed an eye roll. Of course Lydia was already upset. Great.

But then Stiles saw her. She looked amazing. Stiles had never considered her unattractive, but he'd never seen her as a knockout either. Until now.

"You're welcome," Allison whispered.

Lydia hated the dress. She hated the way it rode up when Stiles helped her into his stupid Jeep. And she hated the way she had to keep her knees glued together to keep from flashing her underwear. Surely, Allison could have found her something to wear that didn't show so much leg. Plus, she was cold.

The look on Stiles' face when he saw her. The way his eyes practically glazed over and his jaw slackened. That was almost worth it.

Almost. She tugged on the hem.

"I thought you and Scott were picking us up," Allison said from the backseat.

"Yeah, we were, but I had to run home to- uh- change."


	5. Chapter 5: Drive Me Crazy

**Author's Note: So this chapter is about the double date! I was really excited to hint a bit about Lydia and Stiles' past. Also this chapter is really big for Scott/Stiles and Lydia/Allison friendship stuff. Enjoy!**

They sat at the table together. It was awkward. Stiles knew it wasn't going to be a picnic. Scott was shy, so was Allison, and Lydia was pretty much incapable of having a civil conversation with him. Stiles had thought he picked the right place. A burger joint that would be familiar and non threatening but also fun. He thought he'd psyched Scott up. But nothing was happening.

"How long have you two been friends?" Allison asked Stiles, breaking the silence.

"Me and Scott?" Stiles could have kissed Allison for pulling the conversation out of a lull. "Since kindergarden. We met on the first day of school."

"You're not telling them the best part," Scott interjected. "Some kid was picking on me and Stiles told him that his dad was the sherif and that he would have him arrested if he ever messed with me again."

Allison laughed. The corner of Lydia's mouth turned up. Stiles ducked his head, suddenly a bit self conscious.

"And you, Lydia?"

Lydia shook her head, like she didn't want to talk about it.

"Lydia moved to Beacon Hills when we were in third grade, right?" Scott asked. Stiles tried to recall if this was true.

"First, actually." Lydia responded, not unkindly. "I wasn't in your class then, but the next year and pretty much every year after that I was."

"Right," Scott nodded, giving Lydia a friendly smile. "I remember! You sat between me and Stiles in fourth grade."

"Yes," Lydia's smile tightened. "I was the one who passed your notes to each other."

"But then that would make you the girl who-"

It was at this exact moment that Lydia kicked him in the shin. Hard. Stiles let out a grunt as pain coursed through his leg.

"Sorry," Lydia said through gritted teeth. "Stiles, do you want to pick something out on the jukebox with me?"

Lydia darted out of the booth before Stiles could respond and Stiles had to practically limp to follow her across the diner.

"What the hell was that?" Stiles asked her.

"Allison doesn't know," she told him, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.

"That the date is fake?" he asked. "Yeah, I know that."

"No," Lydia hung her head. "She doesn't know what everyone at school thinks of me. She doesn't know why I haven't had friends. She doesn't know that I'm the girl who sent you an embarrassing Valentine's Day card complete with an original poem. Which is one of the most humiliating things I've ever done and of course you don't even remember it. So please... shut up about it."

Lydia turned her attention to the jukebox. The bright lights and shining CDs reflected onto her skin and her hair. And at this moment, it was hard for Stiles to understand how he possibly could have forgotten a thing about her.

"Okay," he said. "Sorry. For bringing it up. And for forgetting."

Lydia fed quarters into the machine and purposefully punched the faded buttons in.

"Thanks," she said, glancing up at him. "I still don't like you, though."

"Why not?" Stiles asked, unable to keep the complete and utter aggravation out of his voice. He had been polite, he had apologized, he'd dressed up to show her he respected her. What else did she want?

Lydia just rolled her eyes and turned on her heel.

Lydia felt bad. This date was not supposed to be about her and Stiles. This date was supposed to be about Scott and Allison. And what had she done so far? Acted like a surly child and stormed off because she was embarrassed about something that happened when she was nine? Lydia was way better than that. She was not going to let this stupid jock get the best of her.

Scott and Allison were making small talk but it was clear that both of them felt kind of awkward. Lydia didn't blame them. It's not like she would know what to do on a real date. But it was like she could see the gears turning away in both their minds, desperately trying to think of the right thing to say. And it's not like she and Stiles had given them a very comfortable environment in which to talk. Which was kind of the whole point of this double date thing in the first place. Well, most of the point. And maybe this was mostly her fault. Crap.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Lydia announced, hopping out of her seat and praying that this would work. She shot Allison a glance. Without a thought, Allison followed suit.

"We'll be right back," Allison headed for the bathroom and Lydia shot a look at Stiles that hopefully said: _do something_.

"What's going on?" Allison asked, making sure that no one else was in the bathroom with them.

Lydia knew that there was nothing else to do but come clean.

"This date is a set up. We're only here because Stiles knew Scott liked you and I knew you liked him and we wanted to help you guys get together."

"So you don't like Stiles?" Allison asked, eyes widening.

"I kind of hate him," she replied. She braced herself for Allison to storm out or accuse her of being a liar.

"Then why did you agree to go out on a double date?"

"Well," she said. "I kind of didn't know it was happening until it was already a thing and knew you liked Scott and I wanted to help and- I've never had a friend like you before and I just wanted to do the right thing. I'm sorry I lied. Can you please forgive me?"

For a minute, Allison just stared at her. Lydia prepared for the worst. But before she knew what was happening, Allison had pulled her into a huge hug.

"Never lie to me again, okay?" Allison asked.

"Okay," Lydia agreed. Unable to believe her luck.

Allison pulled back from the hug.

"And you're a really good friend."

Lydia teared up against her will.

"So how exactly did you get you get roped into this?"

"Dude," Stiles tried his best to calm Scott down but nothing was working. Scott had spent the whole night discretely wiping his sweaty palms on his napkin. He was on his third. "You need to chill out. She's a girl. The worst thing that can happen is that she's not interested."

"You don't think she's interested?" Scott was panicking.

"I didn't say that," Stiles tried to assure him.

"But you think it's a possibility?" Scott's voice went up an octave like it always did when he was nervous.

"She'd be crazy not to be into you, man. We just need to get you two talking about something you both like. I bet she's just as nervous as you are."

"Yeah, right," Scott scoffed. "She's probably in there telling Lydia how stupid she thinks I am."

"If anything," Stiles said. "Lydia's telling Allison how stupid _I_ am."

"She really doesn't like you," Scott said.

"I've noticed," Stiles grumbled, tearing his napkin to shreds absentmindedly.

"That must really bother you," Scott said.

"What?" Stiles crushed the tiny bits of napkin in his hand. "Bother me? It doesn't bother me? Why would I be bothered?"

"Well, well, well," a shadow was cast over their table. "If it isn't Brokeback Beacon Hills. Out on a date, you two?"

Stiles looked up to see Jackson Whitmore giving them his smuggest smile. Cora Hale was on his arm, with a similar look pasted on her face. This was definitely not going to help Scott's stress levels. Or Lydia's.


End file.
